Starting a five book series by Glen Cook : Instrumentalities of the Night ..... here is a link to a discussion on its hidden historical flights of fancy :

Linkstill on the Mike Loades Book (see a few posts back) really good sampling it slowly during warm beverages and homemade scones .....

and by the fireplace for a quick read here and there I picked, will pick, pickered, pickering up at the new book store in town : So You Created a Wormhole: The Time Traveler's Guide to Time Travelby Phil Hornshaw , Nick Hurwitch

Welcome, intrepid temporal explorers, to the world's first and only field manual/survival guide to time travel!DON'T LEAVE THIS TIME PERIOD WITHOUT IT!

Humans from H. G. Wells to Albert Einstein to Bill & Ted have been fascinated by time travel-some say drawn to it like moths to a flame. But in order to travel safely and effectively, newbie travelers need to know the dos and don'ts. Think of this handy little book as the only thing standing between you and an unimaginably horrible death-or being trapped forever in another time or alternate reality. You get:

Essential time travel knowledge:

Choosing the right time machine, from DeLoreans to hot tubs to phone booths-and beyond What to say-and what NOT to say-to your doppelganger Understanding black holes and Stephen Hawking's term "spaghettification" (no, it's not a method of food preperation; yes, it is a horrifically painful way to meet your end) The connection between Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, traversing wormholes and the 88 mph speed requirement The possible consequences of creating a time paradox-including, but not limited to, the implosion of the universeSurvival tips for nearly any sticky time travel situation:

How to befriend a dinosaur and subsequently fight other dinosaurs with that dinosaur Instructions to build your very own Rube Goldberg Time Machine Crusading-for fun and profit Tips on battling cowboys, pirates, ninjas, samurai, Nazis, Vikings, robots and space marines How to operate a microwave oven Enjoying the servitude of robots and tips for living underground when they inevitably rise up against us....

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To get back on topic a bit, finished up Rhea's book on the Battle of the Wilderness and now starting the "The Battle for Spotsylvania Court House and the Road to Yellow Tavern". The Battle of the Wilderness was a really good read if you are interested in the period.

_________________Texas, where we have the death penalty and aren't afraid to use it! Build the wall!!

As you might expect, big US Civil War buff (or for those still fighting same, the War of Northern Aggression ) A couple to add to your to do list (unless you have not read Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals, in which case put these second and third):

Edwin Coddington's Gettysburg Campaign: A Study in Command, published in 1997, ages well. As fine an analysis as exists of the actions of both Union and Confederate armies for the six months prior to the battle and the factors affecting General Meade’s decision not to pursue the retreating Confederate forces. Of interest is his over arching point that the Union victory was attributable as much to effective leadership of same as to Lee's over blown mistakes. And Hancock The Superb gets his due, as he should.

Tony Horowitz' Confederates in the Attic. Entertaining story about Civil War re-enactors focusing more on the Southerners. As Shelby Foote once said: "“Southerners are very strange about that war.” This book illustrates same....

_________________"There are times when a corps commander's life does not count..." Major General W.S.Hancock- "Thunderbolt of the Army of the Potomac"

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HancockTheSuperb wrote:

As you might expect, big US Civil War buff (or for those still fighting same, the War of Northern Aggression ) A couple to add to your to do list (unless you have not read Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals, in which case put these second and third):

Edwin Coddington's Gettysburg Campaign: A Study in Command, published in 1997, ages well. As fine an analysis as exists of the actions of both Union and Confederate armies for the six months prior to the battle and the factors affecting General Meade’s decision not to pursue the retreating Confederate forces. Of interest is his over arching point that the Union victory was attributable as much to effective leadership of same as to Lee's over blown mistakes. And Hancock The Superb gets his due, as he should.

Tony Horowitz' Confederates in the Attic. Entertaining story about Civil War re-enactors focusing more on the Southerners. As Shelby Foote once said: "“Southerners are very strange about that war.” This book illustrates same....

Haven't read the others but I would concur that Coddington's book is excellent.

_________________Texas, where we have the death penalty and aren't afraid to use it! Build the wall!!

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